A 75-year-old Michigan woman died in her son's arms after being attacked by a hippopotamus during an African safari.

The family of Carol Kirken wrote in an obituary they are "shocked and saddened" by last Saturday's accident.

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"Having past 75 years old," it reads, "she was resolutely shooting for 100. She would have made it were it not for this accident. Carol died quickly in the arms of her son Robert."

Kirken was a fixture in her hometown of Rochester, a Detroit suburb, where she was known for charitable work.

"She was just a rocket of passion and enthusiasm," Randy Secontine, who served with her on YMCA advisory board, told the Detroit Free Press. "You just meet some people in life that invigorate others, and Carol was one of those people. She inspires people with an enthusiasm that is exceptional."

According to the BBC, hippos kill an estimated 500 people yearly in Africa.